Saturday, April 13, 2013

What Happens to the Jilted Guy?

Good guy Emory James is left standing at the altar as his bride takes off before the wedding ceremony.  That sounds like the end of the story, right?  Not really, according to Cary Attwell in The Other Guy.

I really enjoyed this book since it grapples with a question I've long had about people in general and men in particular: Why is a person attracted sexually to someone else?

Women are generally very touchy-feely and dig into love and attraction throughout their teen years, so that unless they're kidding themselves, they pretty much know what their sexual orientation is by the time they get into their 20s.

Men, on the other hand?  Not so much.  In fact, the portrayal of men as being a little dense has been proven to me time and time again.  That's why when I'm reading M/M (gay) fiction and an intense guy who's had sexual relations with a handful of women during high school is kissed by another guy the first time and he's shocked, I have to laugh, whether he enjoys or doesn't enjoy the kiss.  What's happened is the guy has been taken out of his comfort zone and has had to really look at himself.

Sometimes he finds he's happy with himself and his life.  But sometimes, as is the case in The Other Guy, he realizes he's just been playing along and it's time to re-evaluate.  If he does, he'll be much, much happier.

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